Something that bugged me a little, is that many small stories could have been inserted or changed in way to make them adapt to the final product of the Lord of the rings movies. So I've came up with a idea how they could been handled:

-Swan Knights and Prince Imrahil: When the Rohirrim were on their way to the rescue and was camping at Harrowdale, Prince Imrahil and the Swan Knights could have appeared and joined with them to Minas Tirith. Minor scene and could have been added in EE edition. I would also have them in the charge against the orcs in Pelennor field, and have Imrahil as one of the men with Aragorn to the Black Gate. Could be inserted to the Mouth of Sauron scene.

-Bombadil and Barrow Downs: This one is a tricky one, since PJ arguments that he served no big purpose to the storry. Here, I would make the scene as a cameo. Frodo and Sam meets him after they witness the wood elves going to the grey haven. Frodo, getting startled as Bombadil turns out from the woods in nowhere, accidently lost his ring. Bombadil takes it, and starres it a little, and give it to Frodo as nothing happens. He presents himself and wishes them good luck. Later when they catch up with Merry and Pippin, they find a the Barrow Downs, and makes camp there at night. Strange ghosly spirits appear, and tries to grab them when they are at sleep. Bombadil comes and drive them away, without the hobbits noticing what really happend. He disappear and his arc are finish. A EE scene would be fitting for this.

Scourging of the Shire: The battle will happen simultaneously as the battle of Pelennor fields. I would use some of the deleted scenes that never made it to the EE edition, while having a very short scene, where we see the hobbits fighting back and drives the orcs out of the Shire. I would insert this right after the ghosts cleaning the orcs out of Minas Tirith. A panorama view from Minas Tirith to the Shire.

-Battle of Dale: Legolas hinting it to Gimli in Edoras, so I don't think it would be so important to show this battle. Legolas naming Dale and easterlings in his dialogue? That would work better. Maybe showing the aftermath of the battle together with the Shire victory. Panorama view from the Shire to Dale.

-Easterlings: We see glimps of them in the charge of the city. I would add some short scenes of them, where we see clearly of them fighting in the battle. Both in the pelennor field and inside the city.

Something that bugged me a little, is that many small stories could have been inserted or changed in way to make them adapt to the final product of the Lord of the rings movies. So I've came up with a idea how they could been handled:

Good thinking!

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-Swan Knights and Prince Imrahil: When the Rohirrim were on their way to the rescue and was camping at Harrowdale, Prince Imrahil and the Swan Knights could have appeared and joined with them to Minas Tirith. Minor scene and could have been added in EE edition. I would also have them in the charge against the orcs in Pelennor field, and have Imrahil as one of the men with Aragorn to the Black Gate. Could be inserted to the Mouth of Sauron scene.

PJ may not have included this scene as he'd already showed the elves appearing unexpectedly to help 'man' in the Battle for Helm's Deep. And you know PJ, he hates to be redundant.

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-Bombadil and Barrow Downs: This one is a tricky one, since PJ arguments that he served no big purpose to the storry. Here, I would make the scene as a cameo. Frodo and Sam meets him after they witness the wood elves going to the grey haven. Frodo, getting startled as Bombadil turns out from the woods in nowhere, accidently lost his ring. Bombadil takes it, and starres it a little, and give it to Frodo as nothing happens. He presents himself and wishes them good luck. Later when they catch up with Merry and Pippin, they find a the Barrow Downs, and makes camp there at night. Strange ghosly spirits appear, and tries to grab them when they are at sleep. Bombadil comes and drive them away, without the hobbits noticing what really happend. He disappear and his arc are finish. A EE scene would be fitting for this.

That's a really good way of doing that! Does not change PJ's story at all, gives us fans what we've asked for.

PJ probably didn't include a scene like you suggest as he obviously hates to pad a story (said after viewing the Hobbit trilogy).

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Scourging of the Shire: The battle will happen simultaneously as the battle of Pelennor fields. I would use some of the deleted scenes that never made it to the EE edition, while having a very short scene, where we see the hobbits fighting back and drives the orcs out of the Shire. I would insert this right after the ghosts cleaning the orcs out of Minas Tirith. A panorama view from Minas Tirith to the Shire.

But didn't the scouring happen when the hobbits returned from their journey? Having both battles happening at the same time might be overload; and who saves the Shire - other heroes? And after everything that happens at the end of all things, adding another battle in the shire might be too much.

Any other ways of adding 'Scouring?'

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-Battle of Dale: Legolas hinting it to Gimli in Edoras, so I don't think it would be so important to show this battle. Legolas naming Dale and easterlings in his dialogue? That would work better. Maybe showing the aftermath of the battle together with the Shire victory. Panorama view from the Shire to Dale.

Maybe have Gandalf say something about Minas Tirith wasn't the only place under attack, with a few seconds of Ents defending Edoras, Galadriel Lothlorien, Dain/Brand Dale.

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-Easterlings: We see glimps of them in the charge of the city. I would add some short scenes of them, where we see clearly of them fighting in the battle. Both in the pelennor field and inside the city.

So what do you guys think?

What more would you want to see about the Easterlings? I, as a reader, knew that they were in the battle.

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I don't want to be a killjoy, but while I would love to see these things and many more present in the movie, I don't think they could be legitimately inserted without significantly lengthening the films. We book fans can recognize the book elements and refer back to the original material for the background. However, imagine a person who has never read the books watches this movie. How are they ever going to understand what the hell is going on with those random ghosts in the Barrow Downs without all the background on ME history and geography that we have? Would they really appreciate Imrahil's appearance? All of these things need more than a one-line explanation. I think that as an independent film, I would not be satisfied with almost any explanation for what things are and why they happen. I think that these details become meaningless when taken just at face value, without their historical context. The films lack the depth and breadth of history that enrich the books, and you can't fix that with minor details.

But I don't want to stop anyone from wishing and suggesting. Fire away! This is just my personal pessimistic two cents.

On a note of better humour, even the book readers can't properly give an answer to "who the hell is Tom Bombadil?"!

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